My GL/GI Diary - a steep learning curve!

[doyle]

Hi all, just thought i'd introduce myself and pick your brains to see if/where i'm going wrong!

I've decided (after reading a fair few books) that i like the principles of a low GI/GL diet but i love carbs!!

However, i am making the decision that as much as I love carbs I hate being fat more! So i'm swapping all the nasty refined carbs for good carbs and fruit and veg and allowing myself a few "treats" each week if needed.. this will help if i'm going out to eat.

I started on Monday of last week at 190lbs, and i want to lose at least 40lbs by this time next year.. a pound a week seems doable so that's what i'm going for.

This has been my food diary for the week, comments welcomed. I am aware that i may have eaten a few things that i shouldn't but i've been out for a meal this week with a limited menu (at least i didn't have a pudding!) and i still have a few things in the house that need using up (and i can't stand food waste)



Mon
B - apple, yogurt, granola
L - Frittata(bacon, squash, egg, cheese), salad
T - chicken and cashew nut stir fry
S - almonds, dried cranberries(small amount), yogurt, satsuma

Tues
B - apple, yogurt, granola
L - frittata and salad
T - pork steak, butternut squash, 4 new potatoes, salad
S - 1 pc linseed bread, peanut butter, yogurt

Weds
B - apple, yogurt, granola
L - cous cous patties, butternut squash, salad
T - meal out - hunters chicken, chips, salad (no dessert!!!)
S - 2 dairylea light, yogurt, dried cranberries

Thurs
B - apple, yogurt, granola
L - Beef chili, wholemeal pita
T - Ham, wholemeal pita, 1/2 jacket potato, cheese, salad
S - almonds, satsuma, strawberries

Fri
B - apple, yogurt, granola
L - omelette, cheese, onion, chorizo
T - Pulled pork, wholemeal pita, salad
S - satsuma, velvet crunch crisps

Sat
B - porridge (40g) milk, 1 tsp coconut
L - chicken salad, cheese, 1 pc linseed bread
T - wholemeal pita pizza, sweet potato half
S - none today.. may have some fruit later


So writing this down it seems to contain a lot of potato and bread items.. i may have to revise this for next week. I did check my GL rating thingy to the book i've got and i never went over the 80 clycaemic load each day.. (Nigel Denby GL Diet)


It'll be nice to "meet" you all and see how well you are all doing on your journeys.. i've read a few diaries and i'm going back to see if i can pick up some more inspiration!

 

[ruth frances]

Hi Doyle, welcome to the forum It's always great to meet someone new in here.
I'm loving your approach of you hate being fat more than you love carbs! I'm a carb lover too, but the thing I love about GI/GL is that you don't have to stop eating them completely like with some other diets, so you don't feel as deprived of carb-lovelies.
It's all about smart carbs

Your food diary is looking pretty good I think- you have to figure out what works best for you. For example I would normally eat a lot of bread based meals and snacks, so cutting out bread almost completely would not work for me ---> I know I'd end up feeling totally deprived and before long would have a massive toast-munching blow out!!
So the approach I've taken with this diet is:
grainy bread/wholemeal pitas/wholemeal wraps (ie. 'smart' carbs that are low GI with lots of fibre and nuritional goodies) are part of my day-to-day diet, but I try to limit them to 1 a day (or occasionally 2 a day )
The same with potatoes - i LOVE them, and couldn't live without them completely. So I found somewhere locally that stocks lower GI potatoes (Nicola variety, GI 58) and have small amounts of those, plus sweet potatoes etc. I've found making mash with half Nicola potatoes (or sweet pots) and half tinned cannelloni beans is really yummy, and not that different from normal mash

As you've set a sensible time frame for losing your weight, I think the key is to make GI/GL work for you so that you can stick to it long term - changing the way you eat permanently rather than a 'quick-fix diet' that so many people try.

Hope things are going well over the weekend

 

[doyle]

Thanks for your reply, i'm glad i haven't gone drastically wrong somewhere, and the great thing is i don't feel deprived at all, infact i feel like i'm "cheating" lol - i've eaten bread, i've eaten peanut butter, i've eaten nuts, i've eaten cheese - on a "diet"!!! wow:drool:

Bread wise, i have some wholewheat tortillas(who knew they existed before this), some soy & linseed bread and some more wholewheat pitas. I think they should last me a while, usuallly OH decides he likes anything that i've bought just for me so he'll be diving into it all too!

Thanks for the tip about potatoes, i'm not sure where they'd sell those sort (I should remember the name pretty easy as that's my name!) but i can do some research anyway and see what the lowest GI potatoes are around by me.

My one large issue i have with this eating style - i can't bear the thought of beans!

Now, it's not that i don't like the taste of them , it's not that i've ever tried them to know whether i like the taste of them.. i just can't pyschologically get my head around eating them. Weird? yes.. something i've got to get over? yes.. I must have had a traumatic experience as a kid with baked beans, that's all i can put it down too! So i will be trying the mashed potatoes with mashed cannelini beans but it might take me a while to get my head round the idea!

Thanks for the tips and encouragement.. i'm off to start reading more diaries x

 

[doyle]

Right so meals for today..

B - i'm trying the oatbran pancakes from the recipe thread - savoury with a bit of cheese and onion
L - egg fried rice with chicken (35g rice)
T - lamb steaks (they need using up) and a couple of new potatoes, broccoli, carrots
S - nuts, dried cranberries

I think that should do for the day.. right i'm off to start planning my meals for the week.

Have a great day x

 

[irish molly]

Hi and welcome. You have a very realistic time frame and that means you won't be setting yourself up for disappointment when losses slow. On GL on a weight loss phase you could average 2 lbs a week. I know I did and with little effort.
Your whole approach makes sense and over a few weeks you will find your rhythm.
Try quinoa instead of rice and pasta. Do try beans. Flageolet, borlotti, cannelini etc all have lovely flavour. Sainsburys have a great range of tinned ones so no need for soaking and hours cooking.
Adapt your current fav recipes by substituting beans or cous cous or quinoa.
Your menus look good. My mantra is to watch the portion sizes. I really find that once these slip I will start gaining.
Keep posting as it will keep you motivated.

 

[doyle]

Good afternoon!

Thanks Molly, I've been and read all of your diary, well done on the weight loss! thanks for the tips.. i will get round to trying beans.. honest

Well yesterday i treated myself to a baked apple, filled with nuts and dried fruit. I had it as a "low GL treat" and because I hadn't had nearly enough calories that day. I noticed some of you also keep a check on calories rather than counting them as such, i have been doing that on myfitnesspal too... some days i find it quite hard to fill my quota

I have also bought the GL counter book by Patrick Holford. I'm an accountant, i have to quantify stuff! i'd like to know i'm keeping a low GL through the day, even though i know i'm low calorie. I won't be getting obsessive about it *ahem* but i think it will help me in these first few months.

So moving on to today, my OH is cooking tonight so it won't be as low GL as it could be but...

B - apple, yogurt, granola
L - chicken, ham, beetroot, 2 rye crackers and a dairylea
T - risotto, chicken and chorizo (small portion of)
S - almonds, cranberries, satsumas, boiled egg

 

[doyle]

Proper weigh in tomorrow but had a sneaky weigh in tonight and i think i've lost 2.5lbs!

I'm going to change my stats a bit so they match my stats when i started slimming world back in March.. and then when i get my club 10/stone awards i can match them to the weight on here..

Quick note - I am going to Slimming World each week to get weighed and support OH, but i'm not particularly following their diet.. fingers crossed the consultant doesn't ask too many questions about my eating habits lol

 

[irish molly]

Well done on the potential loss!!!! Another good little counter I use is the Gi & GL Counter by Dr Wynnie Chan. It gives cals etc and traffic lights for GL values. It helps till you get your head around the better foods.
Menu today looks good.

 

[ruth frances]

how did your 'proper' weigh in today go? sounds like it should be good news!
Beans are yum yum yummy! Maybe try sneaking a few in here and there to see if you like them first i.e.
the mash as mentioned before.
some tinned chickpeas / mixed beans / butter beans to a soup
Tinned kidney beans to a chilli con carne
Mix a few in with some rice when you have a rice-based dish

They're so good for low GI/GL, and don't taste anything like tinned baked beans if you're a baked-bean-hater : )

 

[doyle]

Hi everyone, thanks for dropping by... thanks for the encouragement!

Well just got properly weighed and lost 2.5lbs!! :clap:

I am now 13 stone 5 and a half pounds!! I have 2lbs to lose till i have lost a stone and i'm back to my pre holiday weight (hols was in october oopss!)

Must admit though i've had a bit of naughtiness tonight and had two cupcakes without topping.. bit celebratory, bit because OH was having them and i wanted them.. :sigh: i still have to get over rewarding myself with food or the mentality that its weigh in night and i can have a "nice" tea!.. working on this...

RIGHT back on the horse now... no more naughtiness and meal plan to do for tomorrow.

B - apple, yogurt, granola
L - ham, cheese, salad, beetroot, carrot
T - HM falafel, salad, mint yogurt, wholemeal pita
S - almonds, cranberries, satsumas

Will be going shopping on friday so i'll buy some beans promise i have some cottage pie mix in the freezer that i made, so it just needs a beany potato topping.. mmmm lol..

I hate hate hate baked beans.. i think this is my stumbling block.. but i won't let it deter me, i WILL try them!

 

[irish molly]

Well done on the loss. That is a good result. Beans or no beans you are doing very well. Keep it up.

 

[doyle]

Ok so confession time..

I had a really stressful day at work yesterday to a point where i thought i'd start blubbing in the office(I cry when frustrated & angry).. I managed to calm myself down but one of my first thoughts was "I need chocolate!"

Why? i don't even particularly like chocolate.. i much prefer savoury naughties. I think i'd drained myself emotionally and it was my body trying to get sugar.. naughty body :nono:

Anyway.. Round 1 to me - i managed to avoid the chocolate!!

My OH, being the lovely that he is, decided to cheer me up by taking me to the cinema. OMG (as the kids say) popcorn, chocolate, hotdogs, nachos how to resist?!?!

OH bought some M&M's..halo started to slip and i pinched a few (peanut ones to lower the GL) but still doing ok compared to usual... round 2 ish to me

It was 9.30pm by the time we got out of the cinema, we'd had no dinner, OH was ravenous. He suggested Fish and Chips :cry:that was my halo gone.. If i'm honest with myself, i didn't even really enjoy them.. what a waste.. round 3, food won.



So yesterday is just going to be chalked up as a "learning day".

Round 1 - I managed to get through a really stressful time without any hiccups foodwise. I saw that i was emotionally eating rather than hungry and nipped it in the bud.

Round 2 - when i'd relaxed i let my guard down. I think i rewarded myself, with food, for being strong earlier in the day, then it spiralled.

Round 3 - The issue i have to work out properly is the fish and chips. I didn't want them, I was annoyed that i was having them (even before i'd bought them) and when i was eating them i didn't even register i was eating. 1000+ calories for no reason, high carbs for no reason and a sluggish day today while my system processes it all.

I'm not dwelling on what happened yesterday. There's no point, i can't change what happened now. But i need to learn to change what happens in future similar situations!

wow, sorry rambled there a bit.. but i wanted to log it all so i can learn from it.

--------------------------------------------------------

Today, i've been back to normal(stuck to 1500 calories)

B - usual apple, yogurt, granola
L - soup, linseed bread
T - wholemeal pitta, falafel, salad, mint yogurt
S - almonds, cranberries, oat cake, peanut butter, yogurt

bit too much bready type products again but i've now got a couple of days off work so i can sort out a proper meal plan and have time to cook.. my GL counter book has arrived too so i'll have a good look at that.

Hope everyone's ok x

 

[irish molly]

I think you did really well. Your analysis of how you handled it is great. I think you only caved on round three because you had had no dinner so sugar levels had really dropped and cravings spurred by the few M & Ms.
I always keep a Nakd bar in my bag for just such situations. Nakd bars are just raw fruit mashed together and are a great standby. You can get small bars and larger 68 g bars in Tesco or healthfood shops. Their website will deliver in the UK. The large bars are a great substitute for lunch on the go.
You did very well. Your chip supper can be your "20%" of your 80/20 lifestyle this week.

 

[ruth frances]

As you say, it was just one day. You can put it behind you and move on.
Maybe you also need to have a chat with your OH so that he stops putting temptation your way. I had to with my hubby at first - its not that he was being unsupportive or insensitive, but just clueless and kept forgetting I was on a 'diet'. He eats what he wants and still manages to be slim : <

 

[Splenda]

Hi doyle
Just had a read of your posts and well done so far, you're definitely taking the right steps to make the changes you want to and also in getting to your goal Lots of good advice has been given and it is a learning curve - there will be moments where we might fall back into our old habits but as long as you get right back on track, you'll be fine!!